Depending on your math level, reading Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems: Networks of Plausible Inference by Judea Pearl might present you with a crisper idea of why it can be a good idea to formalize certain types of AI problems in general, and it would be a life-enriching experience, but I anticipate that's more effort than you'd want to put into this exact point.

FWIW, Jonah has a PhD in math and has probably read Pearl or a similar graphical models book.

(Not directly relevant to the conversation, but just trying to lower your probability estimate that Jonah's objections are naieve.)